The Difference Between Real and Cyber
by JaneSwan
Summary: This is the new and improved version! At first, they were pen pals. Nothing dangerous in that, is there? When it all comes down to it, can anyone really tell the difference? Because, in the end, we're all liars. ItaSaku DISCONTINUED.
1. I: Liars By Trade

I have returned!~ I missed all of you! It's been.. three years? Yeah. I think so. Reading over my old stories, I have decided that they sucked. I would like to say that as a high school graduate (college student in January!) I've gotten better and my writing style more mature. But I'll let you be the judge of that!.. Hope no one minds me tweaking. A lot. 'Cause, when I initially wrote this, I had no plot. They meet in a chat room, talk, become 'friends', eventually she learns that he's _the_ Uchiha Itachi and she joins the Akatsuki. Not a good basis for a story. So, things have changed a bit. They're all still ninjas (you can't take ninja away from the Naruto gang. It's who they _are_.) only they're in high school. And there's whole bunch of new stuff, but you'll find out that eventually. Yes.

The Difference Between Real and Cyber.

Humans are deceitful creatures. Give them the internet and they can go wild. It only makes things worse when they happen to be ninjas. Liars by trade.

Sakura had just finished her daily training ritual and homework and was unwinding in front of her computer, looking for someone to talk to. Naruto, Ino, Tenten, and Neji were online. Naruto was sure to go on about ramen, Ino would gossip about someone Sakura didn't know and Neji was completely out of the question, she hardly talked to him in real life, what would she talk about in a chat room with him?

Tenten it is. But just as she made that decision, she received an invite to a chat room that was made especially for the rookie nine. It seemed everyone was in it. She accepted.

**~CherryBlossom has entered the chat room~**

**Blondie:** Hey Forehead:)

**WeaponGirl: **Hi!

**Nhyuuga:** ..

**RamenHokage: **Sakura-chan! Want to go out for ramen?

**CherryBlossom: **Sorry:) Already ate. Hey guys!

After the initial hello, the conversation left Sakura and didn't seem to include her. It seemed that it was easier to ignore her in a chat room than when they hung out.

Sakura gritted her teeth and her fists clenched, pushing down the pain it caused in her chest. Tenten hounded Ino on her new status of singlehood, asking what exactly happened between her and Shikamaru.

**Blondie:** Well, it wasn't exactly smart to start a relationship with your team leader..

**WeaponGirl: **Gasp! Did you say what I think you said? Sakura! Can you believe this? .

Sakura's gratitude swelled. Tenten was letting her back into the conversation? She jumped on the opportunity.

**CherryBlossom: **She said the 's' word!

**WeaponGirl:** It's gonna be okay, Ino! We'll get you help!

**Blondie: **Guys!

**Blondie:** Okay... Maybe that wasn't exactly what I was thinking when I asked for a break...

**CherryBlossom:** You 'asked for a break'?

**WeaponGirl:** Harsh.

**Nhyuuga:** Indeed.

**Blondie:** I can't help who I love! My heart decided without asking my permission!

**CherryBlossom: **Oooh. So.. Who is it?

**RamenHokage:** Yeah, yeah! Who's the lucky dude?

**Blondie: **Like I'd say in a chat room!

**CherryBlossom: **So, later?

**WeaponGirl:** We'll only let you off the hook if you tell us later!

**Blondie: **Fine...

**~Blondie has left the chat room~**

**RamenHokage: **Store. Need more ramen! GAH!

**~RamenHokage has left the chat room~**

**Nhyuuga:** Tenten. It's almost time for training. Better go now so Gai doesn't try to mess with Kakashi.

**WeaponGirl:** Okay. Be right there.

**~WeaponGirl has left the chat room~**

**~Nhyuuga has left the chat room~**

Sakura sighed. Great. Alone and forgotten. Again.

**~WeaselMeasles has enter the chat room~**

Sakura's eyes narrowed minutely. She didn't recognize the username and it wasn't in her friends list. So how did this unknown person get into this private chat room?

**CherryBlossom:** Who are you?

Sakura winced a little. She was so blunt. If could find a way to fall onto her bluntness, she would probably run herself through.

**WeaselMeasles: **I don't give out my name to strangers. What if you were a rapist?

**CherryBlossom: **Well, I'm not.

**WeaselMeasles: **Really? What a relief.

Sakura twitched. Jerk...

**WeaselMeasles: **My name is Kazuma. Yami Kazuma.

**CherryBlossom: **..male?

**WeaselMeasles: **Does Kazuma sound like a girl name?

**CherryBlossom: **Anything's possible?

Yeah. She definitely wanted to fall onto her bluntness. But he was funny.

**WeaselMeasles: **So you are?

**CherryBlossom:** Sakura. Nice to meet you, Kazuma!

**WeaselMeasles: **Likewise.

They talked for a while about random things, foods, books, careers. Kazuma said he taught for a living. Sakura teased him, calling him Measles.

**WeaselMeasles:** Kazuma. KA-ZU-MA. Not Measles!

**CherryBlossom:** But Measles-chan!

**WeaselMeasles: **No!

**~Avenger has entered the chat room~**

**CherryBlossom:** Yo, Sasuke.

**Avenger:** Whatever.

**WeaselMeasles: **Rude.

**CherryBlossom: **Totally!

**WeaselMeasles:** Then why bother with someone with foul manners?

**Avenger:** Must be a friend of yours, Sakura. He's just as annoying. Anyway. I only got online to say that we have a scheduled team training session tomorrow before school.

**CherryBlossom:** Which training field?

**Avenger: **3. I don't see how it matters though. You're just wasting your time putting effort into something you'll never use. Realize your future as a wife already.

**CherryBlossom:** What the hell, Sasuke?

**WeaselMeasles: **Uncalled for.

**Avenger:** I'm speaking the truth and you know it. Hurry and leave the Academy before you make more of a fool out of yourself.

**CherryBlossom:** You chicken-basterd! How DARE you speak to me like that? After everything thing I've done for your sorry... Well, you know what? I'm done. I'm DONE. I hate you.

**~CherryBlossom has left the chat room~**

**WeaselMeasles: **Way to go, idiot.

**Avenger: **I don't know who you are, but you have no business being in this chat room or talking to Sakura.

**WeaselMeasles: **Oh? Telling me to stay away from the girl you just insulted? The girl who now hates your existence?

**Avenger: **Yes. And she'll get over it. She always does.

**WeaselMeasles: **And what if she doesn't? What if this is her breaking point?

**Avenger: **There are ways to comfort a raging woman.

**WeaselMeasles: **Repulsive gaki.

**Avenger: **What did you call me!

**WeaselMeasles: **Can you not read?

**Avenger:** I won't repeat myself again. Stay away from Sakura.

**WeaselMeasles: **It's not as if you could keep Sakura away from something she wants, is it?

**~WeaselMeasles has left the chat room~**

Sasuke was left to do his sulking in peace.

Sakura was humiliated. For Sasuke, her childhood friend, to say such hurtful things to her? Unforgivable. He knew her buttons. Knew exactly how much pressure to exert when pressing them and what to do later to console her pain that he had inflicted. Why did he always have to make her feel small? As if it's what he needed to feel whole inside..

The Taylor Swift song playing on her laptop was definitely messing with her head.

Her logical side pushed the emotional mess away and started stating the facts. Was Sasuke right? Was the only thing she would do with her life be getting married and caring for a family? That wasn't so bad, but it wasn't her style. Was she cut out for a life as a kuniouchi in the modern day? Basically, an assassin for hire?

The emotional mess smacked away the logical side. Who did he think he was, telling her what she can and can't do? She'll be the one to decide if she can't do anything! She can do anything she wants!

Her computer made an odd noise and she turned back to it with a raised brow. A little bubble had popped up on the screen.

**~WeaselMeasles sent you a message!~**

Hey, Sakura. I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed talking with you and make sure that you weren't taking what that loser said to heart. People like him are bitter until they realize that things aren't as bad as they believe. Only, by then, it's usually too late.

Sakura felt a bit better, a smile on her face as she responded to the man called Kazuma.


	2. II: Pen Pals

Arghh! I've been reading my first attempt at The Difference Between Real and Cyber. And it makes my eyes hurt. And my head. I was a freshman when I wrote this... I remember it being better. Sad face.

So it's a bit OOC, all of the characters hating on Sakura. It won't be quite like that. Maybe a bit like they just don't have time for her? They mean well, but are always busy. I'm gonna try really hard to keep everyone as in character as remotely possible. Say a quick prayer for me? Anyways, here it is. I'll try to make this one longer:)

Sakura was really getting attached to this Kazuma guy. Someone she didn't know outside of the internet. She knew relationships like this were dangerous but if they're just pen pals, it'll be okay, right?

She slowly fell into a routine. Wake up, train (using methods Kazuma suggested, which were amazing, Sakura found), shower, get ready and eat something, and then, before heading off to school, she'd check her email for any missed mail and reply to it. She'd get through school, hang out with Ino, Tenten, and Hinata during lunch, avoid Sasuke, and try not to get the substitute teacher P.O.'ed at her. Then, she'd go home, train a bit more, finish any homework (not usual, she finishes everything at school), and then spend practically all night talking to Kazuma.

It was kind of borderline hazardous, how late she stayed up.

**WeaselMeasles: **It's late..

**Cherryblossom:** So?

Sakura pouted. She didn't want to stop talking to him. The way he seemed to understand her and accept her made her a bit needy. She hadn't had a friend who cared about how she was since Naruto, and ever since he and Hinata started dating... Sakura was NOT upset that her friend had a girlfriend. She was ecstatic about it. But he was simple minded. And when someone like him has a girlfriend on his mind, he doesn't really think about anyone else.

**WeaselMeasles: **Yesterday, you complained about your teacher throwing an eraser at you because you fell asleep in his class.

**CherryBlossom:** Substitute teacher. There's a difference.

**WeaselMeasles: **Not really. I'm a teacher remember?

That statement made Sakura pause. That's right. He's a teacher. She'd been so caught up in the fact that she had a new friend that she forgot the differences between him and her. He could be thirty! She clutched her head and screamed at the terrifying thought.

"Sakura? Are you okay?" Her mother called from downstairs. "Or is it another one of your spaz attacks?"

Sakura's head fell on the keyboard, her body limp.

**CherryBlossom: **gfvtv tyyuj

What ifs swirled around her. Rapist, sex offender, old man, kidnapper, psycho...

"NOOO!"

"Yep. Spaz attack," her mother's voice sang. "Power through it, honey!"

**WeaselMeasles:** Did you... die?

**CherryBlossom: **Yes. I am dead.

**WeaselMeasles: **Good, I was worried.

**CherryBlossom: **I just said I was dead! What's good about that?

Ugh! Three words and she's right back on the computer, blabbing her mouth off to a rapist. I am soo dead...

Right! It's now or never! She's gotta ask him his age!

**CherryBlossom:** Hey, Measles..

**WeaselMeasles: **Kazuma. Not Measles. KAZUMA.

**CherryBlossom: **Then... Ma-chan!

**WeaselMeasles:** ...You wanted to ask something?

**CherryBlossom: **Right...

**WeaselMeasles: **Out with it.

**CherryBlossom: **Well, I was wondering.. How old are you, Kazuma?

**WeaselMeasles: **...22 next Fall.

**CherryBlossom: **Aren't you a bit young to be a teacher?

**WeaselMeasles: **Child prodigy...

Twenty-two? Sakura felt so much relief. She didn't think it possible. Twenty-two. No where near thirty. That's a five year difference. Could be worse.

Sakura caught herself, smacking herself upside the head. Idiot... thinking that way about a man you don't even know?

**WeaselMeasles: **How old are you, Sakura-san?

**CherryBlossom: **17. 18 next month.

Neither typed more and Sakura glared at her monitor, as if to command it to show words from Kazuma.

**~SharkBaiT has entered the chat room~**

**SharkBaiT: **Yo.

**CherryBlossom:** Er.. hi person I don't know?

**~WeaselMeasles has sent a private message to SharkBaiT~**

**WeaselMeasles: **Go by codenames. Without thinking, that's what I used when I told this girl what my name was.

**~SharkBaiT has replied to WeaselMeasles~**

**SharkBaiT:** Understood.

**WeaselMeasles:** This is Kito, a colleague of mine.

**CherryBlossom: **Nice to meet you, Kito! I'm Sakura.

**SharkBaiT: **So this is the girl Kazuma blew me off for..

**CherryBlossom: **Eh?

**SharkBaiT: **We were going to hang out today, but he said he was busy.

**WeaselMeasles: **Shut up, Kito.

**CherryBlossom: **Ah... Sorry!

**WeaselMeasles:** There's nothing to apologize for.

**SharkBaiT: **Blowing me off for a girl... that's low, man.

**WeaselMeasles: **You'll live, idiot.

**CherryBlossom: **Heheh:)

**~Origami-Hana has entered the chat room~**

**WeaselMeasles: **And this is Magnolia.

**CherryBlossom: **Hello!

**Origami-Hana: **Hmm. Now that I've figured what you two are doing, I'm going.

**Origami-Hana: **Oh, and it was nice meeting the girl Kazuma won't shut up about. Bye.

**~Origami-Hana has left the chat room~**

**SharkBaiT: **She's just like that. Short, sweet, and to the point.

Sakura felt her cheeks flush a little, Kazuma talks about me? She smacked herself again. Stupid, stupid. Not smart at all. It's the internet. The internet is BAD. But his personality was so cool...

ARGH.

**CherryBlossom: **I got to go.

**~CherryBlossom has left the chat room~**

Sakura paced. She paced and paced. And then she paced some more. She was trying to get the blood flowing, trying to get the common sense she prided herself on to return.

But it wasn't.

The next day was dreadful. She couldn't pay attention in class and her substitute teacher cracked down hard.

"Haruno-san," his smooth voice said quietly from the board. Sakura looked away from the window where everything was free (unlike the prison it was inside) and no internet guy problems. Her substitute teacher narrowed his eyes minutely. It was enough to freeze the blood in her veins. It was no surprise that the man was Sasuke's older brother, Itachi. Although girls in the class fantasized about the extremely hot man, he was still scary. "Lunch detention. Come back during lunch break with your food. We'll be discussing you future."

Sakura's face, which had looked depressed before, looked absolutely devastated. Naruto, who sat behind her patted her shoulder. "It'll be okay, Sakura-chan! I believe in you!"

"Uzumaki! Keep your mouth shut or you're next."

Sakura could have pulled out her hair. This guy was horrible!

She could hear someone snickering a couple seats back and turned just slightly to see Uchiha Sasuke with that blasted smirk upon his face.

HE'S LAUGHING AT MY PAIN!

Sakura's Inner busted out of her cage for a moment before being stuffed back in, but everyone around her noticed the flash of aura. The substitute's eyes watched her closely.

As her friends all voiced their concerns about her predicament, Sakura mentally prepared herself to face the man.

"You know," Hinata said, a finger on her chin, "I heard something odd from Naruto the other day."

The girls looked at her, curious looks on their faces as they put their things in their lockers.

"Naruto was reminiscing about when he was a child and the three of you were inseparable. You and Naruto used to play a lot at Sasuke's house, right?"

Sakura nodded slowly. It was back in those days that Sasuke and Naruto fought everyday but at least Sasuke was kinder back then. And the boy that I was always following around...

"Didn't you used to get along with Uchiha Itachi-sensei? What happened?"

Sakura took a deep breath, calming the sudden emotions that threatened to take over. "He grew up."

Sakura was having a hard time not twitching. Her bento box before her, she sat in her seat towards the back of his class.

First lunch detention.

There goes that perfect record.

Itachi-sensei sat at his desk, his arms folded before him. "Haruno-san, it'll be easier for both of us if you move up to the front of the class."

Sakura blew out a gust of air and stood forcefully, her chair scratching on the floor as it accommodated her movement. She stomped to the front of the class and plopped down into a front row seat.

"Better, Itachi-sensei?"

Itachi ignored the sarcasm. "For the last few days, your concentration has been lacking. And it's not at all like you."

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed. He's not started a lecture. Those aren't lecture starting words. What's his angle?

"Is there anything you'd like to talk about?"

It came as a bit of a shock. Was he... worried about her?

His eyes were gentle, not the sharp and daunting look she'd known for so long. It brought up those painful memories. The ones she'd worked on keeping her mind from.

"Ita-nii-chan!"

A little girl, about five, with pastel pink hair rushed to the older boy, his features dark and calculating. She seemed to throw herself into the air and hit him, causing both to go down, the boy's arms clutching the girl to prevent her any pain.

The girl was laughing hard, a tear pooling to her eye. "You should have seen your face, Ita-nii-chan! You looked so shocked!"

The boy sighed. "You that was dangerous. Do you do that to Sasuke?"

The boy's arms loosened around her when she squirmed and she seated herself next to him, a grin on her face. "Nope! Because this is Ita-nii-chan's special hug! Only Ita-nii-chan!"

The little girl looked proud of herself as the boy pulled himself up slowly, a little smile on his face. "Is that a promise, Sakura-chan?"

The girl held up her tiny pinky. "Yeah! Pinky swear!"

"ITACHI!" A pink blur attacked him, but the boy was older now, and stronger. He was able to catch her and keep his feet planted. Holding her small frame in his arms, he smirked down at her.

She had a cute pout on her face, muttering to herself, a trait she'd picked up somewhere.

"My surprise attack didn't work.."

"Next time, don't scream out my name," he offered with a grin.

"But I was so happy! Today, I got into the ninja school!"

"Congratulations. Did you come today to play with Sasuke?"

The girl's cheeks went a little red. "N-no. I came to see you!"

Itachi's face became a mask, something he was starting to do more and more around the little Sakura. Something that she picked up on.

Rejection came on, like a knife to her chest. Tears started to pool in her eyes but she tried to keep them in, because today she got into the ninja school and ninjas don't cry.

Her voice was soft but it spoke in volumes. "You... don't want to see me?"

He put a hand on her hair, stroking it lightly. "It's not that I don't want to see you. But I am thirteen and you are eight."

"S-so?"

"It means I have to grow up."

Grow up. It was new term for her.

"I'll grow up, too, then!" she declared.

His smile was small and hardly happy. "Sakura, there are five years between us. It's not right for you to be my friend. You're Sasuke's age. You're supposed to be friends with him."

"But I am friends with him!"

"Then go play with him, Sakura-chan." He gave her a little push towards the other side of the park where Naruto and Sasuke played ninja.

"B-b-but-"

"Don't friends play together, Sakura-chan?"

"B-but I don't love him like I love you!" the little girl yelled as she hugged his leg, holding on for dear life, scared of the mask that would slide back and the rejection and the hurt.

"Sakura-chan." He tried to gently pry her off, try to establish that distance. She didn't budge. "Sakura-chan." He took a deep breath. "Sakura."

Her head jerked up at him when she heard her name spoken so coldly. Her arms loosened and he stepped out and away from her.

Her bright green eyes pleaded. She was scared. Intuition told her to prepare herself. Such a young child, surrounded by loving people, could have never really prepared herself.

"I don't love you."

**Author's Note:** And a low blow from Itachi! Such a heart breaker... Please review! I haven't got a beta, so please tell me if there are any mistakes that need correcting. Thank you for the time you took to read this!

NoTouchy.


	3. III: Her Spot

The Difference Between Real and Cyber II

Watching that person, who had broken her heart at the age of eight, now look at her with such soft and caring eyes made the wound, that she had thought had long since healed, open, forcing her to feel that pain fresh all over again. The depression came on fast, a cold wave of water pulling her into the ocean.

And she couldn't swim.

Itachi looked worried as Sakura's bright eyes dulled and her body started to curl in on itself. Her hand clenched the fabric of her shirt where the pain was most fierce.

"Don't." Her voice sounded so small and weak to her. So delicate. She didn't want to sound like that in front of this person. "Don't start caring now."

"Sakura-"

She stood, the way she held herself so different from a few minutes earlier. "Is this why you held me back? I'll work on paying attention more in the future. But don't think that after all these years I would so easily talk to you about my life."

She gathered up her things and her dignity. "I'll be leaving then."

Itachi didn't protest. He sat at his chair, his eyes downcast and fists clenched, as she walked out of the room.

Somewhere, deep down, she had hoped that he would stop her. Apologize for hurting her. At this point she'd figured his reasoning for what he'd done, but he'd gone about it all wrong. It was twisted and backwards.

Just like him, in a way.

She found her friends under the cherry tree and was about to join them when she noticed a girl. In her spot.

In their group of friends, they had a bit of a ritual. They always sat in the same spot under the cherry tree in the courtyard in a circle on a blanket that either she, Ino, or Hinata brought. It was something they'd developed since grade school. And Sakura's place was always between Naruto and Sasuke.

And today, there was that redheaded girl, Karin, in her place.

It was kind of hard not to feel sorry for herself. She really should've left her lunch detention sooner. (Or shouldn't have gone in the first place.)

She'd lost her place.

**WeaselMeasles:** How was your day?

**CherryBlossom:** . . .

**SharkBaiT: **That bad, huh?

**CherryBlossom:** It seemed to get worse as the day went on.

**SharkBaiT: **Bummer.

**CherryBlossom: **I'm trying really hard not to feel sorry for myself, but it's hard.

**WeaselMeasles: **Want to talk about it?

**CherryBlossom:** Well first I got lunch detention.

**SharkBaiT: **Whatcha do?

**WeaselMeasles: **Bet she fell asleep again. Told you to go to bed.

**CherryBlossom:** Yeah, yeah. Well, this sub and I have history.

**WeaselMeasles: **You mean teacher.

**CherryBlossom: **He's a sub.

**WeaselMeasles:** But you've said he's there more than your actual teacher, right?

**CherryBlossom: **That's because Kaka-sensei skips all the classes before lunch.

**SharkBaiT: **Sounds like an awesome teacher.

**WeaselMeasles: **Either way. He's been there from the beginning, yes? And you've seen your actual teacher how many times?

**CherryBlossom:** Twice.. all year.

**WeaselMeasles: **There you are. He's your teacher. Now you have history with his teacher?

**SharkBaiT: **Is it the usual, he's a family friend, or the ex-lover thing?

**CherryBlossom: **Kito!

**WeaselMeasles:** Yes, Kito. Shut up.

**CherryBlossom:** I grew up with him. He was one of my best friend's older brother. So when my two friends were fighting, I'd go find him.

**SharkBaiT:** Betcha it was love at first sight!

**CherryBlossom:** A bit. But he found me annoying I think.

**WeaselMeasles: **I'm sorry that you felt that way. I'm sure he cared for you.

**CherryBlossom:** Obviously not much. He gave me lunch detention and then started asking how I was doing. You can't ask a girl who's heart you've broken whether she's okay or not. At that point you've lost the right.

**WeaselMeasles:** And it got worst after detention?

**CherryBlossom:** Yes. You can only imagine how I was feeling. I got up and walked away from the sub.. teacher.. (Who didn't even stop me. What kind of teacher if that?)

**WeaselMeasles: **(A teacher who understood that his student is under a lot of stress? You knew him as a child, yes? He had a bit of an idea of your personality and how much you react to pressure.)

**SharkBaiT:** Yes, yes, Kazuma, you love profiling people. Let her go on!)

**CherryBlossom: **I went to find my friends. We always eat together. Back in grade school we called ourselves the Rookie Nine (plus three older students who graduated last year.) They were at our tree, all eating and having a good time. But I couldn't join them.

**SharkBaiT:** Why not?

**CherryBlossom:** There was a girl there. In my spot.

**WeaselMeasles: **And you couldn't just go up and demand it back?

**SharkBaiT:** Yeah, you couldn't just go and kick the chick out of your seat?

**CherryBlossom:** No.. Back in eighth grade, it had been a joke in our circle that if someone took your seat, you couldn't take it back forcibly. I had thought it was a joke, but then it happened sophomore year. A transfer student, Temari, took Ino's (my best friend) seat. It was then that Lee, a junior, stopped Ino from attacking Temari, stating the rule we'd all made. He enforced it and Ino spent the day eating her lunch on a bench. (I'd gotten up and joined her.)

**SharkBaiT:** Children are evil...

**WeaselMeasles: **Can't you take it back tomorrow?

**CherryBlossom:** I'm going to try. But you should have seen the way that girl's eyes took on a malice when she saw me. And then she smiled (rather evilly.) and threw herself on Sasuke, clinging to him.

**WeaselMeasles:** Do you like this Sasuke?

**CherryBlossom: **There was a time, in freshman year. We all got older and he started resembling his older brother, the sub-teacher (I felt soo shallow). We dated for a year.

**SharkBaiT:** What happened?

**CherryBlossom:** He cheated.

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek. It was demeaning, to be cheated on. Like she wasn't good enough. That he wanted it so bad that he went to that redheaded bitch, Karin. She told him 'no'. And so she got cheated on.

She'd come to the conclusion that her life sucks and she wasn't meant to have someone. (At least not till she went to college.)

Sasuke came to school with a black eye and a busted lip the next morning.

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><p><strong>Author's Note. <strong>Hey! So it's a little short, but yeah. I'll put up more soon. I start my new job Wednesday, so I'll try to get some more up by tomorrow maybe.

Reviews:

Fushigi yuki: Thank you for your review! Itachi's smart. Only sometimes I think he's stupid about the stuff concerning feelings. (Feelings? We know not of any feelings here!)

BriBri: Thank you! And, yeah, you're very right about the divider. So I decided to just have the chapter and save what I want to say down here so on one gets confused. Thanks, BriBri!


	4. IV: Not a Fun Habit

Here's to hoping that people enjoy this installment! I update a little erraticly. It doesn't help that I forgot to write down all my ideas for this story. I'm horrible.

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><p>The Difference Between Real and Cyber<p>

iv: not a fun habit

Naruto was the first idiot to comment on Sasuke's face. And what could anyone expect Sasuke to do in this situation?

What his manhood required. Give Naruto a black eye, too.

Seeing the prick punch Naruto, Sakura took justice into her own hands and blackened Sasuke's other eye.

Yes, it was a rather entertaining morning at Konoha Academy for Aspiring Ninjas.

. . .

Sakura chatted with her friends, Ino and Hinata, at the lockers. Ino looked a little uncomfortable, like she wanted to say something and Sakura elbowed her in the ribs.

Sakura sent her a grin when Ino glared at her. "What is it, Ino-pig? Spit it out."

Ino looked down, her brows scrunching up. Sakura had an idea of what was on the blonde's mind.

"Don't..." it came out in a whisper and Sakura couldn't be sure if she'd actually said anything.

Ino cleared her throat and glared at Sakura. "Don't get in any trouble today, Forehead. Someone took your spot-"

Sakura cut her off with a tiny smile. "Yeah. I know. But I can't even bring myself to be upset."

She'd been upset last night. She'd felt humiliated. She'd admitted to some man, a stranger, that her boyfriend had cheated.

(He'd cheated, so something must be wrong with her, right? She wasn't good enough.)

But then, he said one little thing, and she felt better.

**WeaselMeasles: **So, theoretically speaking, if I asked for your number, there wouldn't be a boyfriend in the way?

**CherryBlossom:** You're sweet. No.

Kito had chosen that moment to exit the chat.

**WeaselMeasles: **Okay. Well, I was serious then. Would you give me your number?

Sakura's face heated up a little at the memory. The girls all looked at her in curiosity. Ino smirked.

"Oh, I get it," she announced. Sakura jumped out of her thoughts. Sakura was sure that she didn't like the look in Ino's eyes. "Did you enjoy your detention?"

Sakura's eyes got wide at the thought and Hinata gasped. "Oh my goodness! Are you serious, Sakura? You and the uber-smexy substitute teacher?"

Cue an awkward silence with everyone slowly turning to Hinata with wide eyes.

Hinata looked away, embarrassed. "What? Someone had to say it..."

Ino scratched the back of her head. "Er... yeah. Despite that break of character, Hinata's right. That sub is _way_ hot."

There was a bit a throat clearing from behind Ino and Sakura leaned a little to the left to see Naruto.

He gave his signature grin despite the black eye. "Just letting you ladies know that the topic of your discussion can hear you."

Sakura, eyes wide, looked around, imagining Itachi lurking behind a trash can, but stopped when she realized that Naruto thought they were talking about _him_.

"Idiot," she sighed. Ino attacked Naruto as Hinata sighed with Sakura.

"You've _tainted_ Hinata-chan!" Ino screamed.

As Ino tried to beat Naruto to a bloody pulp Sakura glanced over at Hinata. "She is right, Hinata. I wouldn't go as far as saying he 'tainted' you and _I don't want to know what base you're at_. But he's really brought you out of your shell. In a way that Tenten, Ino, and I couldn't." Sakura gave her a soft smile. "It makes me glad you're allowing yourself to relax."

Hinata's smile seemed to show just how much he'd coaxed her out of that shell. Her smile was easy and unforced. Sakura couldn't help ruffling her hair. "Treat my idiot of a brother well, okay?"

Hinata nodded. "Yeah."

Kazuma sent her a text in second period.

_How are you?_

Glancing around to make sure that the teacher, Iruka-sensei, was still scolding Naruto, she texted back quickly from under her desk.

_Good, you? Aren't you supposed to be teaching?_

Her phone buzzed in a couple of moments. He was a fast texter, obviously.

_I have a free period. Aren't you supposed to be learning?_

Sakura gave a little chuckle.

_Touche. I've already finished all of the homework until next month._

_Is it so easy?_

_It's Chakra Control: Concept and Uses. This month is written work. So yes, it's easy._

_Ah._

Sakura stared at her phone. The ball was in her court. But she didn't have a topic. Chakra control, school... She could ask him what he taught! She clicked her question into her phone quickly.

He answered quickly.

_Ninjutsu._

**….**

**…**

**..**

**.**

**..**

**…**

**….**

Sakura couldn't help it. Ever since that text message from Kazuma, she'd been extremely suspicious. She'd continued to text him, but her mind was whirling. She didn't really know this man. He could be anyone. (He could be Sasuke! GASP.)

But the one thing that seemed to smack her in the face was that her substitute teacher, the jerk-wad, Itachi-sensei, taught ninjustsu. And Kazuma was always correcting her. Saying that subs were teachers too (which they weren't).

When it was finally time for her ninjutsu class, she'd never been more attentive to Itachi-sensei, even when she was a child. She watched him like a hawk. (She only had two things that pointed towards the assumption that she would not say, but that was two more than anyone else.)

Kazuma didn't text her that period and Itachi-sensei didn't take out his phone (although he's never been one to use his phone while he was teaching before). She didn't add that to the list because she knew that it wasn't a sound clue.

She decided to test it.

Using her awesome stealth skills, she carefully sent a text to Kazuma.

_Hey, I've got a question._ She figured it was better then sending an empty text.

"Haruno."

Sakura flinched at Itachi's harsh voice. She looked up, dread coursing through her. Had he seen?

"Lunch detention."

She hung her head and mumbled out a 'yes, sir'.

It seemed that she was going to make a habit of this.

...

..

.

..

...

She got a reply as she grabbed her boxed lunch and apologized to Ino and Hinata for getting in trouble again.

_You wanted to ask me something, Sakura?_

"It's okay. I say screw that stupid rule. If you can get out early, we'll kick Karin out," Ino offered, punching her open hand.

Hinata nodded in agreement, her silver eyes flashing dangerously.

"Thanks," Sakura said, touched. "I'll try. But I'm not sure I will be able to."

Ino wagged her eyebrows at her. "I know what you'll be-"

Hinata gave her a push towards outside. She smiled at me. "Good luck, Sakura-chan."

Then she dragged Ino out before she could further tease Sakura.

Sakura glanced at her phone and sent a quick text.

_How do you feel about giving lunch detention?_

A plan seemed to be forming in Sakura's mind as she smirked a little. She wasn't stupid. She'd get to the bottom of this.

…**.**

…

**..**

**.**

**..**

…

…**.**

The next morning, Team Seven was scheduled to meet for a morning training. Sasuke had advised her the previous night to give up (realize your dream of a wife, he says) again. Sakura had showed (partly) just to spite him.

They met up in the gym, Sakura being the first to arrive. Sasuke was next. He sent her a glare before taking his usual spot, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his training outfit.

It brought back memories of freshman year when they'd first been placed in this team, three childhood friends who'd been together since kindergarten. They'd spent the summer way, Naruto and Sasuke went to the Uchiha beach house and Sakura had gone to Suna to visit family.

At the beginning of the school year, it seemed like they'd all grown up without the others noticing. It was then that the young Uchiha realized that Sakura was a girl. A _pretty_ girl, at that.

Somehow, they took that step away from being just friends.

Sakura could see them, those three years ago, standing together waiting for Naruto and Kakashi to show. Sasuke suddenly pulling her to him and capturing her in a fierce kiss, pushing her against the wall.

Sakura bit down on her lip, hard. She was not going to go down that ugly road. But it had started and it wouldn't stop.

The scenery changed and they were kissing in her room. His hand touched her in a scary place and she shoved at him in a desperate attempt to stop him, get him off her. The kiss had felt good, but that touch was something that she didn't understand and didn't know if she _wanted_ to understand.

As it was mentioned before, she was not stupid. She knew where babies came from.

But everything about the touch screamed _wrong_.

He'd been angry. Looking back now, she realized that he'd probably felt rejected. Just like she'd felt as a child.

She felt as if someone pressed fast forward when Karin had appeared before her, a triumphant smile upon those whore lips.

"You'll never guess who called me last night, asking to meet up, Sa-ku-ra-chan."

"Sakura?"

Sakura shook herself out of the past, her lip feeling raw. Itachi's face was close to her's, his face looking concerned. She tasted blood and realized that she'd bit down too hard, trying to keep the memories from pulling her in.

She took a step back. "Ita- Uchiha-san."

She took a quick look around, spotting Naruto and Sasuke watching, the former looking more worried than the latter.

She saw Itachi's eyes narrow and he gripped her chin in his hands, inspecting herself-inflicted cut. Her face felt like it was going to blow up, the blood seemed to rush up, causing more blood to pour out of her lip.

His dark eyes glanced from her lips to her eyes and a jolt of anticipation stirred in her stomach. Her jade eyes watched him, half lidded and hazy. His eyes narrowed before he took a step back, releasing her from his spell.

She put her hand on her lip quickly, a green glow alighting the tips as she coaxed the small cut to close and heal.

Sakura berated herself, kidding herself into thinking that he'd kiss her. That he'd ever think of her as a woman. He probably still saw her as the little girl who used to follow his around. She glared at the floor, letting her hand drop.

"Kakashi-san is unable to come for a unknown reason and as his substitute teacher, it is my duty to see that all of his duties are taken care of while he is away."

"So, Sasuke's brother is training us today?" Naruto asked, his hand in the air.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, dobe."

Itachi's style of training seemed vaguely similar to Kakashi's. He told Sasuke and Naruto to spar and turned to Sakura to told her to attack him.

She had a slight idea of how he fought, having seen Sasuke on occasion to challenge him to a duel. He never made the first move. He like to finish a fight as quickly as possible. Sakura could only guess it was because, deep down, he didn't like violence.

Well, he made one crappy decision to become a ninja. It was _all_ about violence.

Sakura sprinted forward without warning, feigning a punch, using a body flicker technique to reappear behind him, kicking him in the back.

Itachi went forward, knocked off balance. Then a little 'poof'.

Itachi turned into a log.

Sakura look around, trying to figure out where he could have gone in the gym. There was nowhere to hide...

"Don't let your guard down, Sakura."

Sakura's eyes went wide, feeling his breath on the back of her neck. Keeping her cool as much as possible, she made a chakra scalpel in her right hand. Spinning, she swung with her left fist, anticipating it when he caught it. Her right hand then swiped at the offending limb, hoping to sever all nerves in the arm.

He caught the wrist before it could do damage and collected both in one hand. He forced them above Sakura's head and towered over her.

"I'm going to have to ask that you meet with me during lunch for supplementary classes."

And so the 'lunch detentions' where upgraded to 'supplementary classes'.

Sakura was not pleased.

* * *

><p>They've upgraded to texting (which there will be more chatroom stuff) and Sakura is starting to get suspicious. Ooh, fun!<p>

Reviews!

**BriBri:** Sorry! I hope it's because you're tired. I try not to be confusing. If there is anything specific that you don't get, ask me!

**Fushigi yuki:** Thank you! I love your summary of it! Makes me feel like I did a good job!

**TeenageCrisis:** Heheheh... oh, you know. Hint, hint, nudge, nudge (SHOVE). Glad you liked it!

NoTouchy.


	5. V: Failed Supplementary

The Difference Between Real and Cyber.

Failed Supplementary

* * *

><p>Sakura's eye twitched. She'd burnt the rice. How the <em>hell<em> did she manage that? She hadn't pulled a Naruto like that since she was eight! Ever since Itachi had announced that she had to start taking 'supplementary classes', she hadn't been able to function. In a moment of utter frustration (and just her usual spaz attacks) she gripped her head as she screamed up at the ceiling.

"MERRAHH!"

The front door slammed and Sakura's mother's voice from the hallway. "Honey, are you in the kitchen?"

Using her ninja skills, she ditched the pot in the sink and dashed up the stairs to her room. Once there, she called out, "No..."

"Because we've talked about this. What are we not supposed to do in the kitchen?" Although her voice was from downstairs, it carried wonderfully as if she stood in front of Sakura.

"Think," Sakura groaned out.

"That's right. No thinking in the kitchen. Sakura, dear, what's in the sink?"

"Um."

Sakura heard her mother sigh. "Another spaz attack?"

Then Sakura heard a crash as her mother had a spaz attack as well.

Sakura hid in her room with the door locked and a bookshelf in front of the door. Hell hath no fury like her mother when something is burned in her kitchen.

Kind of made her wish that her mother lived far enough away so that Sakura could live in the dorms like many other kids.

Why was the universe so cruel?

…**.**

…

**..**

**.**

Once upon a time, Prince Charming lied to sweet and innocent Sakura-chan.

Sweet and innocent Sakura-chan caught Prince Charming doing dirty things with the Chambermaid.

Sweet and innocent Sakura-chan wasn't so sweet and innocent anymore. Sakura-chan had been hurt and betrayed, so she wasn't sweet anymore. Sakura-chan saw things that scarred her for life, so she wasn't innocent anymore.

Sakura-chan was now cold and jaded Sakura-chan.

And Prince Charming became the Traitor.

The Traitor was replaced for a time period of six months by expressionless but safe Sai. (Because Sai doesn't get a nickname.)

After those six months they forgave him.

But cold and jaded Sakura-chan knew better.

Because being sweet and innocent made Sakura-chan naïve. Being cold and jaded Sakura-chan gave her protection from those like the Traitor.

And she knows that if given the chance, he'll do it again.

Because the Traitor is know as Bastard, too.

**.**

**..**

…

…**.**

Sakura stood outside the door of Hatake Kakashi's offical classroom, heaving a sigh. Could she even manage to survive this entire hour of 'supplementary classes'? The man behind this door (who was most definitely not Kakashi-sensei) was not someone she knew. Yes, she knew him as a child, but that was nine or so years ago. People change.

That and Sasuke had gone on and _on_ about how _evil_ his aniki was. She didn't need some bastard telling her useless information. Even if he was evil, he had authority over her. A lot of authority, being that he had power over her grades and grades were everything to her. She might _die_ if she fails.

Failing was not an option.

So then why was she procrastinating opening the stupid door?

Gritting her teeth and deciding to power through it, she pulled the door open.

...To an empty room.

"I told you, did I not, to meet me in the gym?"

The breath on the back of her neck forced her to jump into the classroom with a squeak, spinning to face him so that he couldn't sneak up on her again. She loathed herself for the noise she made and glared angrily at the beginnings of a smirk on his stupid face.

That just so happened to be the hottest face she'd ever seen.

Sakura flinched at the thought, knowing exactly where it had come from. In her mind's eye she could see her Inner's head poking out of the box she was so rudely stuffed into with an evil smile.

Sakura could not allow her to show herself, especially while she was in Itachi's presence, and allow her to influence her thoughts.

That spelled disaster.

For her, at least.

Itachi smirked down at the girl lost in her own world. He'd missed seeing that dazed look on her face when she seemed to disappear into herself, most likely thinking far too hard. The only time it annoyed him was when she did it when she should be focused on him. Like in class.

Like, now.

A poke to the forehead brought her back and she unleashed a heated glare on him and attempted to bite the offending fingers. There was also something else that he couldn't discern in her eyes. Aside from the anger and frustration, there was something that... troubled her?

He'd use his Kazuma persona to ask her later. That was the only way to get her to talk to him. Sadly.

"Come."

And that's all it took for a fuming Sakura to follow the man anywhere. Because despite the years apart, she knew she'd always follow him like she did as a child. She'd follow her first love to the ends of the world if he deemed that the journey must be made.

What was that saying? About first loves? Something about time fading feelings but the memory of a first love never fades away**(1)**. Yeah. She felt it was like that.

She was still a child. Because deep down, cold and jaded Sakura-chan was just sweet and innocent Sakura-chan who had learned to hide the pain.

…

…

….

As soon as they reached the gym, he went to the wall and sunk down gracefully next to a large bento box. Sakura looked over at him with a brow raised, slightly confused. Wasn't the purpose of supplementary lessons to, oh, I don't know, _teach her something?_

"If you do not eat, you will have no energy to defend yourself. Where is your lunch?"

His eyes cut to her accusingly when he didn't seen the blue bento box she usually brought from home. She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"Well, you see, I brought a granola bar from home because Okaa-san had a bit of... ah, problems with where the oven was?"

It had been quite the sight, seeing the older woman from where Sakura hid on the stairs (she'd heard an awful ratchet from behind the locked door and bookcase and (curious) decided to use her ninja skills to investigate) attacking the oven in her spaz attack.

She'd kick something she shouldn't have, a pipe or something, and they had to leave due to a gas leak. Sakura was in the process of asking to stay at one of her friend's houses but found that the time was never proper to ask. Her mother was staying with her boyfriend, who'd Sakura had met and did not entirely approve of. He'd offered both of them to stay until it was safe to come home again, but Sakura had seen the look of hope flash in her mother's eyes when she said she should ask her friends.

The woman just wanted some action most likely.

Damn her.

Itachi watched her closely, trying to uncover the story from the emotions running rampant on her face. There were many and it was difficult to decipher.

"Aa. I have too much."

Sakura's eyes lit up at the idea of getting to eat actual food, not the two granola bars she'd managed to steal from Ryobe's (her mother's boyfriend) house.

In her excitement, she flung herself forward, hugging his neck and was practically in his lap.

"Thank you, Itachi-sensei! Thank you, thank you!"

She pecked him once on the cheek before pulling back and digging into his lunch with so much anticipation (Mikoto-sama's lunches were divine and she knew it was her handy work from the smell) that she didn't see the tiny, miniscule blush that crept on Itachi's cheeks.

…

…

….

One thing to be known about Sakura: when she's happy (really happy, like when she knows she isn't going miss another meal because her mother decided to go on a crusade in the kitchen because she burnt some rice) she blabs.

And when she blabs, there isn't a secret she won't tell.

She can sometimes be worst that the school's biggest gossiper: Ino.

It was dangerous, especially if Itachi could get this much information about her (and from the direct source) without using a false name.

"You have nowhere to stay?"

She'd even blabbed that she was efficiently a hobo at the moment.

Way to go, smart one.

"Yeah, but I'll probably be okay. Ino will hopefully let me stay over."

"And if she doesn't?"

She looked up, a finger to her lips in a thinking pose. "Then I'll be screwed, I suppose."

There was a moment of silence and then, "You are welcome to stay at my home."

She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off. "As your temporary team leader until Hatake-san deems it worthwhile enough to grace us with his presence, it is my responsibility to make sure my team is taken care of. You are not excluded from that, Sakura-san."

She inwardly flinched, hearing him say her name. It really shouldn't affect her. Was it because he had not said it in so many years? Or the fact that the last time he'd called her by her name had been so deathly cold that she thought it would freeze her completely?

After the shock wore off, she realized his words. _Responsibility_, he said. Sakura got a sinking feeling in her gut.

**It's not as if he wanted to take care of you.**

The sudden voice in her head caused a giant headache. The voice she'd shoved down time and time again since freshman voice that seemed to hold so much power. Her stomach knotted in anxiety as she thought of that power hidden in the voice. It was literally only the tip of the iceburg.

And it was only a matter of time before Sakura could no longer control her.

The voice cackled madly. **I would be harmless, Saku-chan. But you never let me out. Power like ****mine is bound to start building up. You know what they say about holding things in, right?**

Sakura held her head as another stab jarred her mind.

**It's bad for the body.**

….

…

…

The first time the internal strength within Sakura surfaced and took control was when she was eight.

She was eight and Itachi had just broken her heart.

She'd run off, lost in the pain her little heart caused her, and eventually ran into the school bullies at the swings of the park.

They'd surrounded her, stupid sneers plastered on their faces. They called her names, never noticing that the little girl they taunted wasn't actually paying them any attention as the tears streamed freely down her face (Iruka-sensei's voice echoed in her head about how ninja do not show emotion, but she couldn't bring herself to care.) and her pink bangs hid her eyes.

**It was bound to happen you know.**

Sakura had stopped crying, immediately silencing herself as the intrusive voice announced its opinion,

**You're just a child. He's a teen now. He has no time to change your diapers.**

Sakura was sinking deeper in her depression, making it all the more easier for the Inner being to take control.

The children around her had not been discouraged by the lack of response from her, and were now closing in on her, one child grinning evilly (it screamed that he tore the wings off of helpless flies).

The first punch was thrown but no one expected the pink haired girl to be so agile. She caught the fist and reared back, sending one of her own. The smirk on her face was sadistic, obviously her other persona in control.

From that day, she was known as being violent and a troublemaker. Time worked its magic and she'd started to become more like her old child self in eighth grade.

After Sasuke and she dated freshman year, being betrayed by _his_ brother was a kick to her already downed heart. She shoved her inner voice away and became empty. She didn't want to be the way she had been before. The need to better herself was there, the need to become stronger. At first, she couldn't act on it. She hurt herself. She pulled her hair out. She plucked her eyelashes (thank Kami-sama that they grew back). She cut her wrists.

The summer before junior year, her mother shipped her off to her father's promising that if she didn't get her act together, she wouldn't be coming back.

That itself was enough to make her come to her senses.

Her father was a bastard. He had four little children running around and was on wife number three. This particular one was only three years older than herself.

It was disgusting. It was enough to bring her back to herself.

She was back in a week, but even that was too much.

And now that little voice in her head was trying to come back. She'd started suppressing it when she was dating Sasuke, and now, four years later, it was managing to come free more often.

She'd call herself insane, but crazy people aren't aware that they are crazy.

**You're not crazy. **

Why, thank you, she thought sarcasticly.

**You're not crazy, **the voice repeated. **But after I'm done with you, you will be.**

A maniacal laugh seemed to bounce off the walls of her head, becoming louder and more painful.

Sakura's chopsticks clattered to the floor and she fell to the side, unable to sit up with the sounds that seemed to vibrate her brain.

Itachi instantly reached out when he heard her chopsticks hit the ground. She made a small whimper, her eyes forced shut in pain, and shook in his arms.

He was unsure of what to do. Race her to the nurse? Let her rest in his arms? (He had to admit that he liked the sound of the latter.)

Getting a better hold on her, he lifted her bridle style and decided on racing her to the nurse.

Who, of course, had decided on taking a lunch break elsewhere.

He gently laid her on an empty cot and closed the curtains for privacy. He pulled up a chair and watched the simple movement of her chest, one of the sure signs that she was breathing.

Why was it that school nurses are never around?

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note. <strong>A pathetic attempt to paraphrase a line from "Something Like That" by Tim McGraw. The ending is a little choppy, sorry about that. I'm not gonna pull the bitch card and say you _have_ to review or no new chapters, but a review _would_ be nice. Just sayin'.

I'm looking forward to the next chapter. This one I felt was a little on the filler side but it gave ya some needed info I suppose. Itachi's going to be slowing taking up all of Sakura's time (and without her even noticing half the time) and Sakura's finally devised a plan to find out the truth. It's been there, in the back of her mind, the big question. Kazuma = Itachi? But if Kazuma _is_ Itachi, then who's SharkBaiT?

And that Origami-Hana that showed up for all of two minutes?

Lots of chat room talk in the next one. More Akatsuki members, too.

Look forward to it, ne?

(WOO, CHAPTER DONE! BOO-YAH.)

Also, I'm looking for a beta... anyone interested?


	6. VI: Acting is the same as lying

The Difference Between Real and Cyber

Acting Is the Same As Lying

* * *

><p>Sakura eyes fluttered for a moment, trying to force them open. The evil laughter had ceased (for now) and the pain was easing away, slowly, like molasses.<p>

When she did manage to open her eyes, she wished she hadn't. Eyes wide, she flinched seeing Itachi glaring down at her.

Those dark eyes carried anger and... something akin to worry? (Was that possible?)

He leaned forward and brushed a strand of pale pink hair off her forehead. "Are you alright?"

His voice was quiet and reminded her of the time she'd fallen and sprained her ankle chasing after Naruto and Sasuke. He'd glared at her, reprimanding her for being so careless, then carried her on his back (which caused much jealousy from Sasuke) the rest of the way to the Uchiha home. There, he cared for her, gave her a pain med and wrapped her ankle.

That's what looked so familiar in his eyes.

She hated it. Being reminded of such happy times, times that were long gone. She hated that this man stirred so many feelings that could never be answered. He'd made that painfully obvious.

Why didn't he see that it hurt more when he tried to be friends?

Sakura turned her head away from him. "I'm fine."

He gripped her chin, forcing her head back to look at him. "But you're not, are you?"

Sakura opened her mouth to say that she was fine (again) and he glared, his eyes bleeding red.

"Don't lie to me."

She struggled to look anywhere but his eyes, but always came back to them. Even if he casted a genjutsu on her, she wouldn't notice, being so focused on his eyes.

**You've got the hots for him.**

Sakura flinched and her eyes glazed over, the voice pulling her inside of herself, deaf to the outside world.

No. She- she didn't like him, Sakura's mind screamed, trying to shove the voice back in its box. The voice made a 'tsk' sound.

**That same old trick won't work again, Saku-chan.**

Sakura's mind screamed again, hoping the sound would deafen the voice, force it away that way. She just wanted to be left in the peace of her own mind.

**If you're so sure that you don't have the hots for him... I suppose you won't mind if I do this...**

Suddenly, Sakura was pushed away, taking a backseat as the voice took over. A sadistic grin slipped into place and Itachi arched a dark brow.

"Ne, Ita-kun," her voice purred. It had a certain quality that Sakura certainly did not have. Let's call it slut.

Itachi's eyes narrowed minutely, sensing something was very off. The innocent girl he knew as Sakura did not speak in such a tone (and if he ever heard about it, he'd personally _murder_ the male she was speaking to) and she'd only called him 'Ita-kun' once before settling with 'Itachi'. (She'd being trying it out since she'd discovered that she loved him and didn't want to call him 'nii-chan'. She loved him, ergo, she didn't want to call him her brother.)

The possessed girl slipped her arms around Itachi's neck, raising out of the cot as much as she needed. "You love me, don't you?"

Itachi's mouth hardened in a flat line. He brought the back of his hand to her forehead, feeling her temperature. "Are you feeling lightheaded, Sakura-san?"

"I never..." she eased closer, "stopped..." only an inch away now, "loving you."

She went in to capture his lips, but he stopped her and detached her arms from his neck.

The rejection hit so hard that it force her Inner back and Sakura was back in control. Sakura's hand slowly raised to rest on her chest were it hurt most. Nothing could have stopped the tears that rolled down her cheeks in earnest, her expression showing her shock.

It wasn't so much shock about his rejection. No, it was far worse than that.

Somewhere, _she'd fallen for him, again._

Throwing the bed sheets off, she raced out the door (leaving a very confused Shizune), all along the way her inner laughing at her pain.

**Even now he doesn't want you!**

Sakura didn't have it in her to go continue with her classes as she ran for the parking lot. She couldn't have gotten through the rest of the school day anyways.

Sakura drove around, not sure what she should do. She couldn't go home. She couldn't go back to school. In the end, she drove to an empty parking lot and sat out the remaining three hours of school. When it was officially over, she called Ino and asked to stay over. She was given the affirmative and quickly met Ino at her house.

After dinner, she pulled out her lap top and signed in.

**WeaselMeasles:** How was your supplementary classes? Learn anything new?

Sakura decided that it was impossible for Kazuma to be Itachi. If he was, he wouldn't be wasting his time talking to her. The only reason that he would keep giving her supplementary lessons after today was his sense of responsibility. After the scene in the nurse's office, she wouldn't be surprised if he never tried to socially speak with her again.

**CherryBlossom:** No.

**WeaselMeasles: **Why not?

**CherryBlossom:** I had... problems. I went home early.

**WeaselMeasles: **Problems? Do you want to talk about it?

**CherryBlossom:** I just... I didn't have control of myself. And I did something that I shouldn't have.

**~bangyouredead has entered the chat~**

**bangyouredead:** Damn. You're here.

**WeaselMeasles: **Sakura, Usagi. Usagi, this is Sakura.

**bangyouredead:** I hate you, Kazuma.

**WeaselMeasles:** Likewise.

**CherryBlossom:** Okay...

**WeaselMeasles:** He's just.. slow.

**bangyouredead: **Dammit, Uchiha!

Sakura froze. Why would that.. odd person, Usagi, (someone who obviously knows Kazuma outside of a chatroom) call him 'Uchiha'? Sakura only knew two Uchiha: Itachi and Sasuke. (Well there was that one time Sakura had dinner at Sasuke's and she met his parents and cousin, Shisui, but that didn't count.) The idea of Kazuma equaling Itachi was coming back, tenfold.

**CherryBlossom:** So you're an Uchiha?

**WeaselMeasles:** Yes. You don't have something against Uchiha, do you?

Well, Sakura reasoned, it _could_ just be a common name.

...Yeah, and I'm an otter.

**CherryBlossom: **Not at all :)

Yes. Yes, she did.

**bangyouredead:** ...I'm bored. I'm gonna go now.

**CherryBlossom: **It was nice to meet you.

**bangyouredead: **Yeah.

**~bangyouredead has left the chat~**

Sakura glanced at her clock. 11:05 PM. Good time to call it a day and get some much needed sleep before she initiated her... plan.

Because you don't lie to cold and jaded Sakura-chan. That would get you castrated.

No joke.

**CherryBlossom:** Well, I've got to go sleep so I can survive tomorrow.

**WeaselMeasles:** I'm sure it's not as bad as you think. You could be overreacting.

**CherryBlossom:** You don't know him. I'm _under reacting_.

**WeaselMeasles: **I see. Good night, then.

**CherryBlossom: **Good night, Kazuma.

**WeaselMeasles:** Sweet dreams, Sakura-chan.

…**.**

…

**..**

**.**

Chan. He'd added the 'chan' to her name. It was something so insignifigant. "Sakura-chan." _And_ it was on the internet. No voice to make it sound real.

So why did it make her so happy, laying down to sleep that night, Kazuma's name bouncing around in her mind happily.

**You're an idiot. One moment you're all suspicious, then you're dancing in your pajamas, planing your wedding to this Kazuma, _who is probably not even real._**

Too high off of Kazuma's words, she couldn't bring herself to be fearful of the malicious voice.

But that was right. She was supposed to be suspicious.

Sakura shrugged. Oh well. She'll put her plan into affect in the morning after she dreamed of this mystery person who made her so happy and forget the one she loved, but could never have.

**.**

**..**

…

…**.**

Her grin was evil in this lighting. She rubbed her hands together like a villain in a cartoon would.

Naruto was right where she'd though he'd be. Cramming noodles down his throat like world was ending in the cafeteria.

She discreetly pulled out a gift card.

"Naruto?" she called softly, getting ready to BS her way through her request. She had the two things he couldn't resist. A fifty dollar gift card and her best set of puppy eyes.

He was doomed and he didn't even know it yet.

He looked over his shoulder, his mouth full. "Ywesh, Suawkwa-chuan?"

"I got you a present, Naruto!" She held the gift card to his favorite restaurant (Ichiraku) in front of her, and his eyes went wide and happy. He swallowed quickly.

"Really!"

"But..."

His eyes turned suspicious, narrowing a little bit. He smelled strings to his ticket to ramen heaven.

Sakura clasped her hands in front of her and shot the unlucky boy before her the most irresistible puppy eyed look she could muster. It drew out the proper response from the boy: a flinch.

"Naruto-kuunn!" She drew out, inwardly smirking at the at the blond's twitching eye.

"Y-yes, Sakura-chan?" he stammered.

"Can you help me with something?" She stuck out her lower lip in a pout, something that most couldn't pull off, being that they pushed it out _way_ too far.

Sakura, however, only stuck out her lower lip a tiny bit. And that was when Naruto knew that he would do whatever Sakura asked of him. She was, after all, his first love. And best friend. (Not to mention that pretty little piece of plastic.) He knew that he'd been neglecting her as of late, due to dating Hinata, and he'd noticed the signs that announced her depression that never really left. He was desperate to help her.

"O-of course, Sakura-chan!"

Just because he wanted to help her didn't mean that she didn't scare him. When she got those puppy eyes, someone was going _down_.

She clapped her hands in front of her, completing the act. "Yay!" Then she closed her eyes and the expression just slid off her face. One moment it was there and the next it was gone, all traces vanished. Like she'd never had that hopeful look at all. She was dangerous with that acting ability. "When he isn't looking, I need you to swipe Sasuke's phone."

Naruto nodded but couldn't help feeling curious. Even if the expression from earlier was fake it still made him feel more comfortable around her than when she got that blank stare. Like she was a computer in that anime he watched till four this morning. (Dragonball Z was currently his favorite.)

"How come you need it, Sakura-chan?"

She looked up at him, as if she'd already forgotten he was there. "I need to check a contact. I have my suspicions, but I need to know for sure."

She then handed him his ticket to ramen heaven and left the cafeteria, intent on hiding out in the library till lunch was over. (She'd lied to Itachi before she'd left his class that she had to get her lunch before coming back.)

(He had not believed it for a second.)

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note.<strong> I realized later that I'd forgotten to respond to my _lovely _ reviewers. Please forgive me!~

So here's for chapter four.

**Fushigi yuki:** Thanks for reviewing:) You should get a prize, you've reviewed three chapters straight! (I can only image you didn't again because I forgot to write a thank you. Sorry!)

Oh and the Sasuke still liking Sakura- yes. But he's also a sexist biatch.

(What do you think will happen next chapter when Sasuke calls his phone [to locate it] and Sakura answers?

Heheh.)

You're amazing, Fushigi!

**Gin Kitsune 13:** But not close enough! Sakura's got to come to terms with her mental problem before romancing.

Or maybe not. Never know:)

* * *

><p>Chapter Five reviewers-<p>

**The love of Sorrow:** I sent you a message cause you asked about Fallen Sakura-chan (which I'm still confused about. If you know her in RL, tell her that I sent a PM cause we were awesome buddies. Oh, and I've finally accepted her love of PeinSaku. Kind of got addicted to it recently..)

**Lalala12:** Yeah.. me too. (SAD FACE!) What's sad is that this is the rewrite. The _original_ has 257 reviews. There's only eight puny, _horrifying_ chapters! And I know it's possible. My story has had 590 hits so far this month _and_ 217 visitors! I do allow anonymous reviews! (Over all since I've published? 958 hits.)

Err.. yeah. (That awkward feeling you get after you rant... Yep.) Thanks, I've tried pretty hard to get my writing to flow. It's still a bit choppy. I'm working on it:)

Thanks for your review! (Review again?)

* * *

><p>Little sneak peak:<p>

So. Yeah. How was that opening scene? Inner taking over? And stupid Itachi, not wanting to take advantage. (I think that's what was going through his head.)

There was some more chat room... but not enough. Much more next time. I cut it shorter cause I only got two reviews... (And Usagi! A bunny Akatsuki member! He'll be contacting her soon...)

So review and it will be longer than four pages! (Not saying I _won't_ update. Just saying they'll be short chapters. Doesn't make me a bitch, right?)

So we've got Naruto stealing Sasuke's phone, he's going to find out that his beloved Sakura-chan (who he wants to drop out so that she can start making babies, because his mom is asking for grandchildren. He's a Mama's boy.) has it. Being the creeper he is, he'll find a way to use it to his advantage.

Cause he's evil.

Seriously. The chicken-ass hair is to throw you off. (And say, "Aww, his unkept bedhead is so cute!~")

Sakura's going to learn the truth (but will she _want_ to know the truth?)... Oh! And a possible kidnapping!

...Ha. That'll be fun to write.

Look forward to it!~

NoTouchy


	7. VII: The Truth

The Difference Between Real and Cyber

The truth

* * *

><p>Sakura's pen tapped insistently on her desk as she watched Naruto from the corner of her eye try to swipe Sasuke's phone as Kakashi gave one of his rare lectures. Things like this don't happen every often, therefore, there was a major test coming up which their grades would count on. If you didn't listen, like Naruto, you'd fail. Well… that wasn't quite true since Naruto would fail even <em>if<em> he studied.

As she watched, it felt like a hand would tighten around her heart. There were a couple of close calls; Sasuke would twitch slightly, as if his subconscious _knew_ what was about to happen to his precious blackberry, and Naruto would flinch back. At this point, Sakura decided that Kakashi was ignoring Naruto, probably thinking something along the lines of, "Idiots will do what idiots do."

In a moment of pure awesomeness, Naruto's ninja skills shone and he carefully took Sasuke's phone and discretely passed it to the scheming girl.

Flipping it open, she was stopped at the four digit password. Thinking fast, she quickly punched in the first combination that came to mind, hiding the phone under her desk.

"7278". It was the password he had used before dating her. (Yes, even back then she knew his password.) The numbers stood for "Sasu".

_Access denied._

Furrowing her brow, she thought of a possible combination. He would have changed it after they broke up, right?

Only one way to find out.

She typed in "7874". "SUSH". Or Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno.

Sasuke's blackberry instantly unlocked, his preset display flashing before her eyes.

A green eyed girl glared up at her, the bubble gum hair tangled and curling at the ends. Her shirt was drenched, a lime green bra strap coming in view as her shirt dipped low.

It was her. The memory appeared in the back of her head, playing like a movie.

* * *

><p><em>Naruto and Sasuke swam in the Uchiha manor pool as Sakura looked on, content with sunbathing. They were celebrating the last day of summer, the last day of freedom, before their first day of high school as sophomores.<em>

_Sakura dozed lightly, her loose blue blouse flowing with the breeze._

_Her relaxing moment was destroyed, however, by the massive wave of water that had suddenly appeared, drenching her entirely._

_The emotions played on her face, clear as day, as she bolted up, screaming._

"_What the Hell!" she sputtered, shaking like a cat.  
>Naruto and Sasuke roared, laughing at the sight. Naruto jumped out of the pool quickly, the only one who thought to get a picture of her pissed off face. (She got mad often, of course, just never wet.) <em>

"_I'll send it to you, Sasuke!" Naruto promised before diving back into the pool. _

_Sakura attacked his phone, but didn't expect Sasuke to intercept her. He grabbed her by her upper arms and forcefully threw her into the pool, following after._

_Sakura was _beyond_ pissed. She was _furious._ She attacked him under the water, using any cheap shot she could get. After all, he had just recently gone through a huge growth spurt and she was no longer the same height as he. And he was certainly stronger._

_They grappled for a few seconds before Sakura's lungs burnt from the lack of air. Kicking herself away from Sasuke, her head broke through the surface and she greedily sucked in the air. Sasuke came up beside her, not gasping at the air like she had, and she quickly dunked him and held him there._

_A few seconds and he stopped struggling._

_Worried, she pulled him up by his underarms, no longer angry. She shook him lightly._

"_Sasuke!"_

_Naruto was there before she could yell again and got him out of the water, the situation suddenly tense and worried. Had she—? No! He was too strong! He couldn't have been overpowered by her… Right?_

"_Sakura! You have to use CPR! Hurry!" Naruto yelled._

_Her eyes wide, she nodded, pushing him out of the way. She positioned herself over him, sending prayers above that he would be okay. Forming a fist with both hands, she pounded him five times over the sternum before pulling his head back and holding his nose to force air into him. She repeated it twice._

_Don't die, she chanted in her head. Don't die._

_Placing her lips on his again, she forced her air into him._

_His arms were suddenly around her, pulling her closer as his mouth moved against hers. She pulled away quickly (what would Naruto think?) and glared at the smirking boy. She punched his gut, enticing the air that she'd given him to leave him._

"_Dammit, Sasuke! I was really worried!"_

_She stomped over to her things, preparing to leave._

"_If you were so worried about you accidently killing me…" Sasuke started, pulling her purse and keys from her. "Then make it up to me."_

_She glared, a pout forming on her face. "How?" she asked tensely._

_His smirk widening, he pushed up her chin and captured her lips._

_She couldn't resist this time. After all, she loved him._

* * *

><p>She glanced at Sasuke from the corner of her eye. Why did he still have that as his wallpaper? Especially since they broke up a month after that…<p>

Scrunching up her brows she went back to the beautiful blackberry. Sakura decided that she'd have time to think about the confusing idiot later.

Scrolling through the icons, she found the one she needed.

CONTACTS

Tensing, she scrolled down. She was so close—didn't something always go wrong about now? Like in the movies? Something would go wrong.

She huffed. This wasn't a movie. 'Course nothing will happen.

Finding it rather easily (he was labeled 'Bastard Brother'), she took a breath and clicked it.

* * *

><p>I would be lying, she thought as she walked quickly to the parking lot, skipping lunch (and her supplementary class), if I told myself that I hadn't expected it. Because she <em>did<em>.

She just hadn't gotten so far into her plan that she knew what to do with this information.

The stupid number she'd memorized was _Itachi's_ number.

Kazuma was Itachi.

_Kazuma_ was _Itachi._

And now she was running.

**Scared, little Saku?**

Knees buckling, she almost fell over—Inner had decided to stay quiet for most of the day and Sakura had almost forgotten the intensity of her voice. But she wasn't about to argue. Inner could always hurt Sakura more than she her. And Sakura had important issues to think about.

**Do you, now?**

Sakura had to stop in her tracks, holding her head.

**I don't think so. You saw him yourself in the nurse's office. He didn't **_**want**_** you. What is there for you to think of?**

Her knees gave out from under her, her bag falling and its contents littering the parking lot. Sasuke's phone fell in front of her.

Inner continued ranting and Sakura's strength continued leaving in a steady flow.

As if by divine intervention, Sasuke's phone started to vibrate.

Inner fought her- trying to hold her back long enough that the phone would cut to voicemail. Answering could save her, get her someone to help her get through it. And it would cut Inner's fun short.

Reaching, it seemed to take forever for her fingers to graze the plastic device. She was so frightened of missing the call, regardless of who it was.

Finally, she gave one last push against Inner and managed to answer the phone.

"H-hello?" she muttered out, lying on the black top.

"_Sakura-san? Why do you have Otouto's phone?"_

She opened her mouth but the words weren't coming. Inner laughed from the back of her mind.

"_We had supplementary classes today. Where are you?"_

Sakura still couldn't makes the words come. All she could manage was to breath heavily into the phone.

"_Are you okay? Where are you?"_

"..P-parking l-lot," she finally forced out. She couldn't do anything else.

"_Hold on. I'm on my way."_

The pain wasn't ebbing. She was barely able to retain consciousness until Itachi found her. Her body was slowly shutting itself down, the only way to control her Inner.

Itachi quickly lifted her limp body, holding her tight against him. Infirmary or hospital? Sakura had collapsed twice. It was getting serious.

Without taking any more time to think about it, he disappeared into smoke, Sakura disappearing with him.

* * *

><p>Hey everyone! I decided that the muse helped me more on this story than my other one, so here I am!<p>

Lots of stuff has happened to me since I've seen you last. One, the computer I had been using died. Literally died. (I HAD SO MANY STORIES IN THE WORKS ON IT, EVEN THIS CHAPTER. I HATE STARTING FROM SCRATCH!) Wouldn't turn on for the life of it. (Now I'm backing up all my stories )

Then I quit my job.

Then I started college this January. It was pretty hectic. I got loan money and then got to buy this fabulous computer! There was a time that I thought I wouldn't be able to get this chapter out there. Dorm life can suck.

ALSO. I've made a FaceBook page for myself! That way, you have a more direct line to me and can tell me to EFFING UPDATE ONCE IN AWHILE.

Isn't that nice? I thought so. I'll also be changing the profile picture to let you know which story I'm working on at the time. (Gotta go find some pictures.) I hope you all contact me (it'll kick me in the rear and make me update more often. You know you want to!) and like my page. **Edit! Man, I feel pretty stupid. Bit of a face-palm just now. The link is in my profile, sorry for being a bit of a n00b. I try to keep that at a minimum. (BTW. Writing the next chapter right now! Scroll down for a sneak peak~)**

NoTOUCHY OUT!

To my lovely reviewers!

**Demoness of the south:** Heheh… Computer crashed? Don't hate me, okay? I'm back! But thanks for at least leaving me a threat:) (Especially a Stewie threat. Those are great!)

**Fushigi yuki:** Thanks, Fushigi! I understand you forgot- I forgive you as long as you forgive me for not updating due to a broken computer:( It makes me laugh reading your review. My thoughts exactly.

**UchihaTragedy: **Thank you for your compliments! I try to write something semi-original. And I totally agree with you! I love to read fanfics, but can never find a really good one. (Let me know if you do, btw!)

Itachi's a n00b. That is all. BYEZ! (Be back next week-ish, I swear!)

**(and so am I, apparently.)**

**EDIT!**

Sneak peak:

Hey, guys, remember when I said last chapter how there might be a kidnapping? What do you think that last sentence was about? *Wiggles eyebrows* Look forward to it!


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